'It just breaks my heart' | Generations reflect on times spent at Braselton's Mayfield Dairy

BRASELTON, Ga. - For Maggie, the Jersey Cow, the end is near as the Mayfield Dairy Visitor’s Center closes at the end of next month, followed by the entire plant shutting down by the end of the year.

Maggie, the giant, statue on wheels at the entrance of the plant, has stood watch over Braselton for decades as the symbol of Mayfield Dairy.

Generations of children with memories of seeing how milk and ice cream are made, children who are grown now, are sad that the tradition is ending before it can become part of their own children’s lives. Those countless school children and their families will now cherish those memories of visiting the plant in Braselton and taking their pictures with Maggie.

But their memories are no match for the economic realities of the changing dairy marketplace.

RELATED | Mayfield Dairy's Visitor Center, plant closing indefinitely

Mayfield’s parent company, Dean Foods based in Texas, is closing the dairy as the company consolidates operations with another plant, out of state. More than 100 people, many who have worked there since the plant opened in 1997, will be looking for work as layoffs begin in September.

By the end of November, everyone will be gone.

Dean Foods sent a letter to Braselton Mayor Bill Orr, dated July 16, 2018, informing him of the plant closure, and identifying for him the 108 positions that will be eliminated.

"We expect to begin laying off all workers starting on Sept. 16, 2018, and for the layoffs to continue through on or around Nov. 30, 2018. Separations are expected to occur throughout that period. We expect the separations to be permanent."

“It just breaks my heart,” Mika Faulhaber said.

Faulhaber’s mother is among them.

“There are so many people that have worked here for so long, and this is all they know, and the community just loves this place,” Faulhaber said.

“Maggie’s always a part of our Christmas parade in Braselton,” Barbara Wright said. “Maggie is decorated every year and makes a grand appearance in the parade.... It’s just a part of our community.... These people [who work at the plant and Visitor's Center] are like family to us. I've been bringing my grandchildren here their entire life.”

Wright was sad when the company ended the tours. The plant has been more, she said, than just a dairy to the children.

“It's been giving them a connection to where, you know, our milk and ice cream and all these great things we enjoy, where it comes from,” Wright said. “It kind of keeps everyone grounded, I believe.”

Mayor Orr has seen estimates that the dairy and Visitor's Center have been attracting about 150,000 people a year to Braselton.

Faulhaber, at the Visitor's Center Thursday afternoon with her children, made sure they left with souvenirs--there's a 40 percent off Clearance Sale--and the children realized it was their last visit.

“I’ve got a stuffed cow here that I named Mayfield because I love it and I’m very sad that it’s closing down and I love stuffed animals,” Avery Faulhaber said.

Farrah Newberry, the Executive Director of GA Milk Producers, expects dairy farmers will still be able to sell their product to other dairies owned by Mayfield's parent company.

"Georgia dairy farmers that send milk to the Braselton plant have been reassured that milk will be redirected to either the Spartanburg, South Carolina or Athens, Tennessee plant," Newberry wrote in an email to 11Alive News. "We are extremely saddened to hear of this closure in Georgia. Two major factors leading to this decision are a loss of market to Walmart and the decline of fluid milk consumption."

As one era ends, the people of Braselton will move on without Maggie standing watch over them.